Temples are sacred places of worship, places where Buddhist monks and nuns live and practice. They are also historic sites that welcome visitors so don’t be shy about visiting temples, even if you do not practice Buddhism. Korean temples are unique because they are usually larger compounds consisting of many buildings and structures, although the entire grounds are considered “the temple”. At Korean temples you will likely see gates, pagodas, a large Buddha hall, and several other places to worship or do walking meditation. Often there are other buildings as well like a gift shop, cafeteria, private residences, offices, and places for visitors to stay overnight. Wear modest clothing. A good rule of thumb is to wear loose fitting clothing that doesn’t expose too much. While it is considered most respectful to have your shoulders and knees covered, you will see many locals and foreigners wearing shorts without much more than a sideways glance. Pagodas, stupas, stone lanterns or any other sculptures are all religious objects. Therefore, sitting or writing graffiti on them is considered extremely disrespectful and is not allowed. Remove your shoes and hat before entering halls or pagodas. Angie Alvis, M. EdAngela Alvis holds a Master’s in Education and Bachelor’s of Arts in Sociology. Ms. Alvis specializes in curriculum development and instructional design. Angela Alvis has a depth and breadth of experience in education and early childhood that has taken her across the world to work in a variety of school settings, from rural programs to large urban districts, and everything from ECSE and DLL classrooms to childcare and university settings. Prior to her work with South of Seoul, Ms. Alvis spent several years leading the wide-scale implementation of play-based learning and a formative assessment model with over 120 educators in five early childhood schools that served over 15,000 students in Washington D.C. After transitioning back to the US, Ms. Alvis became the Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives at Tools of the Mind, she works on cross-departmental teams as the education and content expert. She is currently co-designing a multi-faceted teacher development model that integrates workshops, video coaching, and professional learning communities. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.